


My Grandma told me

by Yoyi



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: A long journey finally ends, Family, Gen, Reunions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-20
Updated: 2014-01-03
Packaged: 2018-01-05 07:57:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,758
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1091483
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yoyi/pseuds/Yoyi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"My Grandma told me, long, long ago, that she found me when she was very young. I was a little baby. It was long, long ago. But I am still a child, while she is an old lady." After Episode 3x11</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Strangers

**Notes** : Without beta.

* * *

 

She looked at him, with her eyes as wide and round as the moon, illusion, hope bleeding out from them. But fear, too.

“It's him, it has to be.”

The man nodded. They both had been looking for him for so long. And now... But this same situation has happened before, and all their hopes were shattered each time.

“I have a feeling... this time it's him.”

They embraced each other, trembling with anticipation. This time... It will be different.

 

~*~*~

 

My Grandma told me, long, long ago, that she found me when she was very young. She had her hair red as sunset, and her eyes were deeper, with a blue as the sea, and her skin was smooth, without those brown spots. She was taller, too, and her voice, she said, mesmerised all the men who heard her song.

But now, she needs me to walk, and her hands shake and her skin is like the trees that surround the house. But I don't care. I prefer Grandma like this, she is beautiful to me. Because her eyes are of the lightest blue, a gentle blue, and her hair is silver as the moon, and her voice talks about a life lived without regret.

When she found me, I was a little baby. It was long, long ago. But I am still a child, while she is old. She told me that when she realised that I didn't aged she feared for me. She told me that I was too precious for her. She couldn't bear any children in her womb, so I was like a blessing. She gave me my name, Ian, and told me that she found me in the deepest part of this forest.

Why were you in the deepest part of the forest?, I asked her. And she smiled at me and she told me that I called for her, I called her mama, and cried her name until she found me. And when she took me in her arms I stopped crying and smiled.

I have liver with her inside the woods all my short life. But she says that my live isn't short, it's just that I forget things so I can still be a child, in the body of a child.

She is resting now. She hasn't been able to walk this past week. She says that's because she is dying, and that when she is dead, she won't be with me anymore. I'm mad at the Death, for wanting to take away Grandma. I need my Grandma, the Death not.

“Ian, sweetheart, come here.” Her voice is shaking when she calls me, I approach more.

“What is it, Granny? Do you want water?”

“No, my sweetness, I want to give you something.”

I help her to sit and put cushions so she can be more comfortable. She ask me to give her a squared box of wood. It's pretty, with patterns on it, and a shiny lock. I wonder why I haven't seen it before.

“I enchanted this box so you couldn't find it until I gave it to you.” I nod. She takes a deep breath, I know she is about to tell me something about my origins, so I sit better and look at her, expectant. “When I found you, this was with you. No, you were holding it tight. You had great magi power. I was afraid for months of you. But you never did anything to me. You see, I had to protect you until you were old enough to get back all your past life, so I learnt magic. Magic to protect you. I learnt how to make a shield, how to hide things. How to hide _you_.” She stops and I give her her water bowl. She drinks slowly, spilling some drops. “Whenever I made magic you reacted to it, as if it were a part of yourself. Those times you really scared me, so I made my last spell, a protection barrier surrounding this area, so nobody with ill intentions could came here.”

“Why?”

“Because if the wrong ears were to hear about you, and your location, your life would be in danger. When you came here, more than 70 years ago, you linked this realm with your own. The time in this realm is different from yours, so in there, there haven't been more than 10 years since you came.”

“Time goes faster here?” Grandma nods. I'm afraid now. “That why I don't age like you?”

“No, my love, it's because of who you are.”

“I don't understand, Grandma.”

She smiles at me, holding her box. When she is about to open it, someone knocked at the door. She paled, and I run to hide.

“Hello? Is somebody here? Hello?”

A woman's voice.

“Let it go, there's nobody here since long ago. We must have missed the right road.”

“No! I know it's here!”

“Granny...” I whimper. I have always been afraid of everything. I don't like strangers.

“Shh, my little one. Go, open the door. Don't worry, they won't hurt us.”

“How do you know?”

She smiles at me. “I know because there is a wee bit of power in me.”

I nod and open the door. Outside there are two people: a tall man with dark hair that is greyed in some parts; a small woman with the signs of age on her blue eyes.

“Yes?” I ask, they look at me, surprised. She starts crying, falling to the ground, looking at me. I look at the man. He is crying too, and has his mouth opened, as if he wants to say something, but can't find the words.

“Let them inside, Ian, my sweet.”

“Co...come in?”

 

~*~*~

 

While I prepare some infusion and pastries in the kitchen, Grandma and the strangers talks with quiet voices, as if they don't want me to hear. I frown, I want to know. When the infusion is ready, I set all in a tray and walk towards Grandma's bedroom. They have moved some chairs and a table so they can sit near Grandma and I can put the tray in a reachable place.

I notice they shut when I came in. That's just unfair.

“Ian, sweetheart, come here.” I climb to the bed and sit beside Grandma, she pets my head and hugs me and kisses my forehead. “Look, my love, these people have come here to take you home.”

I look at Grandma with wide eyes. “But this is _home,_ ” I reply. I see from the corner of the eye that the woman tenses up and the man clenches his jaw. “And I don't know them.”

“Shh. Don't worry, my Ian. They came from your own land. You will be happier with them.”

I can feel the tears on my eyes, but I refuse to cry in front of these strangers. “What if they are bad people?”

Grandma laughs. “Oh, honey, they are not. They know who you are. They are here to take you home.” I can see the worry growing bigger and bigger in her eyes. “Ian, love, I am old. I will die soon and you will be left alone. With them you can have a family-”

“But you are my family,” I cut. I have never been like this, but I'll fight. I don't want to leave Grandma. “I can live on my own perfectly. And I can be here and take care of the house.”

She shakes her head. “No, sweetheart. If you are left alone here, I know my barriers will come down and you will be defenceless. This is the best idea.”

I look at the strangers, pleading them.

“I...” starts the woman. “Maybe he can stay here until...”

The man nods. “And we can stay here as well. We will protect this place.”

Until now I haven't noticed but they are wearing light armour, and she has a short blade and he has a bow and arrows. Their clothes are slightly worn out, and their shoes looks like they have travelled countless roads. They can protect us, but for how long in a battle?

Grandma nods and says some more things. I am not listening, looking absorbed at their weapons. The woman's eyes locks with mine and I feel something special. There's this strange thing that appears in them when she looks at me. It's too intense, so I look away.

It has been settled. I can't argue. They will stay here, and when Grandma dies, I'll go with them.

I didn't know yet, but inside the wooden box, that object was _calling me_.


	2. Miranda

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _“My name is Miranda, Priestess of Gaia, Great Sorceress of the Winterless Hollow, also mother, grandmother and great-grandmother of Ian, the Lost Child of the Lost Woods.”_   
> _"When his past life name completely disappears from the blade, he won't be your father anymore."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. :)

 

Belle got there first. Baelfire still got surprised when she sprinted like that, being this short. But she could run pretty fast. They have spotted the house after hours being lost inside this thick wood. She started to knock at the door.

“Hello? Is somebody here? Hello?” Belle called, frantically. They didn't heard any sound coming out from the house. And there wasn't any signs of any kind of live there. Too much dust, not smoke coming from the chimney, and through the windows you only saw an empty room.

“Let it go, there's nobody here since long ago. We must have missed the right road.” He wasn't that sure about it but, if there was any kind of hiding spell they didn't have the tools to break it.

“No! I know it's here!” They locks eyes. She knows, and he knows. But if he is in there, then he is hiding and there's the possibility that he doesn't want to be found by anyone.

“I know too, Belle,” he starts, talking in whispers. “I can understand you, it has been almost ten years since that happened but you need to understand that...” he didn't finished. The door opened.

“Yes?”

A boy. A little boy. A little boy with wide brown eyes, and brown hair and there is no way in the world he can't recognise that kind of look. _His_ gaze. It's him. He can't talk, the words trapped in his throat.

Besides him, Belle fell to the floor, crying her heart out, but not making any kind of sound. That was when he realised he was crying too, and gaping.

“Let them inside, Ian, my sweet,” the voice of an old woman told the child.

He looked in, and then outside. His hands were trembling. He was trembling. Maybe we has afraid of them.

“Co...come in?”

Oh, goddess! How he wanted to hug him.

~*~*~

 

Belle was still unable to speak. She was looking at the kid, how he nodded when his grandmother, or grandma, how he called her, asked him to fetch them some refreshing. She was hyperaware of him. She could hear him doing things in the kitchen.

“So, you have come to take him away,” the woman's voice was bitter.

“Yes,” Bae, at her side, answered.

“Well, you can go and come back after a century has passed, because he is staying with me. And don't try to kidnap him because I can and will beat you both until your dead!” Her voice was nothing more than a murmur, soft, caring even, but it was full of menace.

“We don't want to harm him,” Belle spoke, at last. “We have been looking for him all these years. We found evidence that told us he might be still a live. And...” She looked in the direction of the kitchen. “He is.”

The woman's gaze relaxed a bit. “What business do you have with my grandson, Ian?”

Belle looked back at the woman, and before Bae could answer she said: “ _Rumpelstiltskin_ was my True Love before this happened to him. And the man here is his son.”

The woman's eyes widened in alarm. She looked at the door and let out a sigh of relief. “You shouldn't say that name here. He is Ian. He has been Ian for the last 70 years.”

Belle and Bae nodded. “A crash in time,” he said.

“Do you have his dagger?” Belle asked. The woman shifted, uncomfortable. “Of course we know about the dagger. He is the Dark One. And we know the danger of that thing. If you have it, better to put it away, to hide it where no one can even find it.”

The woman looked at Belle, reassured by her words. “I can tell that that's what you really meant.” She looked at Bae too. “I was about to tell him before you came. But if you are here, you can take him with you, and he can have a normal life as a normal child. In this realm he ages slower than the Mother Earth herself. He will age normally in you realm, I hope.”

Belle smiled, Bae smiled, the woman smiled.

“My name is Belle of the Marchlands.”

“I am Baelfire, son of Rumpelstiltskin.”

“My name is Miranda, Priestess of Gaia, Great Sorceress of the Winterless Hollow, also mother, grandmother and great-grandmother of Ian, the Lost Child of the Lost Woods.”

That was an awful lot of titles, Belle thought, more relaxed now. This was the moment when Ian came in with a tray and a tea set with some pastries. He looked afraid, unsure, and wary of them. His hands trembled a little when she helped him to set the tray over the table.

~*~*~

 

It hurt a lot when he said that he didn't want to go with them. Bae could hide it, but Belle was unable and the kid saw it. Or at least Bae thought he did. He couldn't tell, he was looking at him but at Miranda. He complained a little more, and at some part looked at Bae and Belle, trying to get some aid in the matter. But they won't. _It hurts to be rejected like this_ , thought Bae. He watched Belle, who straightened a little in her seat.

“I..., maybe he can stay here until...” she left the rest untold. They all knew that she was referring to Miranda's dead.

“And we can stay here as well. We will protect this place,” Bae said, looking at Miranda in the eyes. She nodded.

“I know you will,” she replied, caressing Ian's hair. He was looking at them again, a curious gaze that run from their armours to their weapons.

“We will do whatever is necessary to protect, both of you. I can't assure that we would be able to repel an army, but if there are bandits or the sort roaming here, we can keep them at bay.”

“I expect no less from you two. And you, Baelfire, look like you have dealt with ogres before.”

He nodded. It seemed that this conversation was only him and Miranda. They discussed strategics, at which point Belle came into the chat and contributed her own ideas. While they talked, Ian fell asleep.

~*~*~

 

He was looking at her blade, at her clothes, at her boots. Then, he looked at her eyes. She recognised that stare, and old feelings came to her as old friends coming to greet you. She must have shown them in any way because he averted his gaze. Belle sighed, trying to get back to the conversation. They talked about defensive and offensive points around the house. Oh! Good, she knew a little about this kind of thing. _This may keep me distracted_ , she thought. She couldn't bear his side stares, it was too difficult, after all this years.

She still had those feelings inside her chest, and every time she looked in his eyes, they became stronger. And she shouldn't have this feelings now, because he was a child, and they were worlds apart now. What she, they, could do now was to protect him, and let him have a nice life. She... couldn't be a mother, not _his_ mother, but she could be his mentor, someone who relay on, someone who trust, someone to run to when having difficulties.

She watched him, how he slowly fell asleep. She... Belle needed some fresh air. When they started to look for him, she didn't thought it would end this way. Why was he a child? Was this another opportunity to correct his behaviour? Wasn't there any other way?

Bae took her hand and squeezed it. She smiled at him. He was so sweet. When Bae acted like this, it reminded her of his father. It was warm and it hurt at the same time. But it wasn't Bae's fault. Not at all. It was hers, for mixing this and that and not being able to disentangled this mess.

“Where does he sleep?” she asked.

“Up. He has his own room. He used to sleep with me, but about thirty or thirty-five years ago he asked me to have his own bed. He wanted to feel like a grown up,” answered Miranda. She had a warm smile on her lips, and she was caressing Ian's hair again.

“I'll take him, then, so you can rest,” resolved Belle. Both Miranda and Baelfire looked at her, surprised. “I won't harm him.”

“Yes, I know but... Nothing,” said Bae.

Belle reached then to take Ian in her arms. He was lighter than what he looked. His head fell heavily on her shoulder and he muttered something unintelligible. She smiled.

“I'll be back.”

Belle felt Miranda's eyes on her neck all the way out of her room. But she didn't care. What mattered now was the heat of this little body, the unstoppable hammering of that beautiful heart that told Belle that what she had feared all these years was only that, a fear, and not a reality. He was _alive_.

She got him inside his bed, pulled the sheets and the covers and kissed his forehead. “It was so painful. I saw you dying, and couldn't do nothing. And now... you are here,” she sighed, trembling a bit. “I love you, Rumpel. And now I am going to do something. I am going to protect you this time.” She left the room, hot tears coming down from her eyes.

 

~*~*~

 

They have been together a whole week by now and Ian was really careful around them. He didn't trust them yet. Well, he thought, he will come to trust us when he know us enough. Belle and Ian were talking about names in the kitchen while Bae was sitting in the living room. He had helped Miranda out of bed, she was sitting beside him.

“So, tell me about him,” she asked.

“I'm afraid I won't tell anything until you tell me about you.”

“Always so careful?”

“Yes. It had been a really rough journey. At first we gave away too many secrets, so now, we have to be careful. I don't know what you are capable of, and you could kill us, adding something in the meals, for example.”

“Is that why you and Belle take turns to make the meals?”

He winced. “No entirely. He needs to get used to our way of cocking. The sooner, the better.”

She nodded. In this few days he had come to like this old woman. She knew far too much. And when she wanted, she could be really charming and lovely.

“I'll tell you a story,” she said at last. Taking a deep breath, then releasing the air slowly, she started her tale. “Long, long ago, when the Priestess like me were gave a potion to make it impossible for them to conceive, a young priestess felt a disruption in the delicate fabric of magic. This disruption guided her to the deepest part of the Sacred Lost Wood. She was the only one who sensed it, so, worried, she run to her superior. She still needed guidance in her way to become a real Priestess.”

'“But she could find anything to help her. She was told that since she felt it, she had to go and fix it. This young priestess was afraid, so she ignored it for weeks, for months. Until, one day, the breach fixed itself. But that fixing was shabby and wouldn't hold long. She decided then that she had to go.”

'“In her way there, she found that the Lost Woods didn't have any kind of animals, just plants. No birds, no deers, nothing alive aside from the plants. Those huge trees breathed, singed, lived. They guided her, so she wouldn't get lost in there. Soon after she entered the woods the cry of a living creature startled her in her dreams. Whenever she closed her eyes, there was the cry. She feared the creature that produced that sound, for no living creature inside the woods made one like that.”

'“Her name was called then. She tried to ignore it, but her name was called. Again and again and again. Tired, she run towards the crying creature,” she stopped and looked at Bae. “ What do you think she found?”

“My father,” whispered Bae, breathlessly. “I... I mean, a baby.”

Miranda smiled. “Yes, I found him. He was the one who closed the breach, though he had too little control over his powers, so the fixing wouldn't last. I took his Dagger, and commanded him to seal it properly. Even as a little wee baby he had such powerful magic. That's why I sealed it into his mind. But...” She sighed. “As time passes- he started to lose memories, fragments of his life. And I am afraid that when he lose the last one, this will be irreversible.” She took out the wooden box.

Over the lid it had a name craved: **Iuán**. She opened it and showed its content, a silver dagger, a name on the blade. The name _Rumpelstiltskin_ was fading away, and over it, covering the greyed name another one, greyed too but more visible. It was shorter. Bae felt a cold sweat. _Ian_ , over _Rumpelstiltskin_ , looked stronger.

“You understand what will happen, right? When his past life name completely disappears from the blade, inside this child will only be Ian. He won't be your father anymore. He will still be the Dark One, though.” She closed the lid. “So please, be very careful. If he loses all his memories, try to give him a new life. Don't trap him in the memories you both have of him.”

She looked defeated. And Bae felt that way too.

“Is... there a way to prevent it from happening?”

“I'm afraid I don't have the answer to that question.”

Bae nodded. Now, he was afraid.

“One more thing, child,” she called. “If this dagger gets out the box before it's time, he will suffer.”

“So, do not take out the dagger, whatever happens.”

She nodded. “That's the idea. I made this specially for that purpose.”

~*~*~

 

Smoke. She could smell smoke. She opened her eyes and got out the bed, startled. Through the windows light came, but she was sure it was night time. She looked out to find someone had surrounded the house with a wall of fire.

“Oh my god,” she whispered. “Guys, hey, guys, get up, get up, get up!!”

“Wha...?”

“We are under attack. Gather the indispensable and go out, NOW!”

She run while putting on her clothes and helped Ian to dress with something more adequate. Bae helped Miranda, who was coughing too much by now. She put Ian in the door and got the weapons. Bae gathered some food and more clothes and was about to take Miranda on his shoulders when she refused, still coughing.

“No, you three go out. I can still hold the barrier up, they won't see you, but I need to focus so I can't move.”

“Granny,” cried Ian.

“Oh, sweetheart, don't worry. Now, go.”

“No, Granny, Grandma!! NOO!!”

Belle took him in her arms. He struggled to stay, but they couldn't do any other thing.

“Baelfire!” She heard Miranda calling Bae, but she didn't look back, she just got out the house and run towards the defensible place she and Bae made if something like this happened. There were people outside, but they didn't saw them. She could heard them laughing.

“Now, that witch knows what is it to be in hell.” Laughs.

“Yes. I feel sorry for the kid. It's not his fault that she cast that spell over him.”

“The sooner they disappear, the better for us. You know what our lord said, right? She is the one who is to blame for the disasters that have been happening to us all this time.”

They laughed a little more, but when a strange sound came, a haunting sound, the sound of the death, they flew.

Belle hid, holding tight the child, covering his hears. He was crying on her shoulder, shivering.

“C'mon, Bae, come out. C'mon!”

She saw him and relief run through her body. She must have loosened her grip on Ian, because he got off her and run towards the house.

“Grandma!!”

“BAE!! Get him!!” she screamed.

“Nooo! NOO!! Mirandaa!! MIRANDAA!! NOO!! DON'T LEAVE ME, MIRANDA. I LOVE YOU, PLEASE DON'T LEAVE ME. I'LL BE GOOD. PLEASE, PLEASE!!”

Bae could get him, but something fell to the ground. The wooden box opened and the Dagger touched the earth. Immediately after that, the light that came from the fire was dimmed, a cold breeze danced around them and Ian eyes shone with a golden glow.

Belle run towards them and helped Bae with Ian, who had a hand directed to the house, still calling for Miranda, crying, yelling. The fire ceased completely but the house was burned.

“What's happening to him?” Belle asked when Ian skin started to change. The breeze became wind, getting stronger, and stronger.

The house creaked and the wood planks that made one of the walls started to fall apart. Then, an earthquake.

“The Dagger! It has to be inside the box.” They had to yell to hear the other, since Ian's voice was getting louder and louder, maybe by magic.

“Go get it in! Do it, DO IT NOW!”

Bae released Ian, unbalancing both he and Belle and with quick sharp movements got the Dagger into the box and closed it.

It all ended as suddenly as it started. Belle and Ian fell to the floor. Ian was crying. Belle tried to get him to calm down when she realised that he had lost consciousness and was still crying.

“We..., we have to get out of here,” she said, her voice shacking as much as her frame.

“I... agree.”

~*~*~

 

_He was smaller. Miranda was looking at him. She smiled, he didn't._

“ _What are you doing down there?” she asked, still smiling. He was hiding under her bed. “Did the lightings scare you? Don't worry, my child, they can't hurt you if you are with me. Come, come here.” She reached, but he didn't move. Miranda didn't lose her smile, she just sat there, almost lying on the floor, looking at him with her bright deep blue eyes._

“ _Miranda,” he said, with a high pitched voice, the voice of a small child. What was he? Six? Four? He couldn't remember. “Why are you not scared of them?”_

_She laughed, she laughed like the rain. “Because I am a Priestess. And Priestess don't get scared of the nature of the skies. It is true that if a lighting were to fall on you, you will be dead, but as long as you don't go out, you will be safe.”_

_He got out,going directly to her arms. She embraced him and caressed his hair and his back._

“ _You are safe with me, my child.”_

_He nodded, his face hidden on her chest, still startling whenever a thunder sounded._

“ _I love you, Miranda.”_

“ _I know, my child.”_

_He looked up. “Why do not I have a name?”_

“ _Do you require a name, my little one?”_

“ _Yes,” he nodded. “I want one as pretty as yours._

_She smiled at him, and this time, he did too. “Okay, give me some time and I'll find your name.”_

“ _Thank you, Miranda.”_

_She kissed him on the forehead._

~*~*~

 

“He has a fever,” commented Belle, with a hand on the child's forehead.

Bae sat beside her, looking at him too. “Maybe the jump from one realm to another is too much for a child his age.”

Belle nodded.

“Don't worry, he will be alright. Go get some rest. I'll watch him tonight.”

Belle nodded again, and left the room. Bae watched her go. And sighed. Their relationship was awkward to begin with, and now it was more awkward. Sometimes he didn't know what to think of her. Was she brave? Was she not? How come she loved so much his father? What happened between them? He knew only scraps of their story. They never had real time to talk about it. And he had so much questions. But he never asked, seeing the hurt in Belle's eyes whenever they talked about his papa.

“Papa, how did you do it?” He rearranged the sheets, watching the little child in his sleep. “She loves you dearly, and deeply.” Bae stopped talking for a few minutes, listening to him breath. “Did you ever loved mama like that?”

The kid remained silent, breathing irregularly. Bae changed the wet cloth he put on his forehead. He has never taken care of a child, but he remember his papa doing these things to ease his pain when he was ill. He even sang to him, sweet melodies that calmed him down and keep the nightmares at bay.

Baelfire rescue one of those an started singing, not so sure about it, voice shaking, and a shade of plea. “Don't cry, don't cry, my wee lad. Don't cry for your papa is here. Your papa is here, he takes care of you, takes care of you, and the nightmare is gone. Smile, just smile, my wee, little one, for your papa protects you.”

This seemed to work, because Ian calmed down a bit and stopped stirring, then sighed. Bae smiled. Right now, Henry came to his mind. He must be twenty or twenty-one, if he remember correctly.

“Don't worry, papa, you are not his replacement.”

~*~*~

 

“ _Come out, come out,” came as a sing-song the voice of Miranda._

_He tried to muffle a giggle. She must not find him. Hide and seek was his favourite game, and these huge trees helped him to hide. Miranda always sang like that when she was near to find him, to make him laugh so he would reveal where he was._

“ _Come out, little Ian, come out and I won't eat you.”_

_This time he couldn't stop the giggle, even when he put his hands over his mouth._

“ _Found you!” She appeared right at his side, with a wide smile and raised arms, fingers flexed a little, jumping a little._

“ _Iaaa,” he screamed while he ran away, laughing now._

“ _You won't escape me!” She ran after him, and caught him, throwing both to the ground, tickling him_

“ _Nooo, ha ha ha ha!!”_

_She was laughing too. Dry leaves on their hairs, clothes. Mud on their faces._

“ _I like my name, Miranda,” he said after a while._

“ _Of course you like it, Ian, I chose it.”_

_Then, his eyes unfocused, and his head fell._

“ _Ian? Ian!”_

_When he looked at her again, something was different. “Mama, I want to go home. I feel bad.”_

_Miranda looked at the child, a bit worried. “Do you know who is Miranda?” she asked. He nodded. “Who is she?”_

“ _She is great-grandma, right?”_

_She froze. It seemed like he just forgot something important. A fine breeze passed by._ Magic!? _“Yes, yes, it's grandma. Let's get in. It's started to chill.”_

~*~*~

 

“Nightmares,” she murmured to the night. Beside her, Baelfire nodded. He had an arm around her shoulders and she was leaning onto him.

“He had been having them after the fever.”

“And... Those are his memories,” she added. “ _Our_ memories.”

“He... When he loses the last of them, he won't be him anymore. He will be Ian, just Ian.”

Belle shivered and Bae hugged her tighter. She leaned into the touch, feeling reassured by the proximity. She didn't know how she felt about Bae. She always pictured him as a child, or a teenager at much. She never thought of finding a grown up man – a man who reminded her so much of her Rumpel. She missed him, and she knew Bae did too. She supposed they supported one another. It was warm in there. She liked being with him.

A knock into the door separated them.

“Come in,” said Belle.

With short and unsure steps Ian entered the room. When he spotted Bae there, he looked at them with suspicious eyes. He was still ill, with red cheeks and fever, but he could walk now, and he got bored easy in his bed. So he investigated the place, always well covered by layers and layers of warm clothes.

He walked towards Belle and sat on her lap, laying his head on he shoulder and closing his eyes. She looked up to Bae, who was still standing and saw his eyes full of kindness, warmth and love, a small smile spreading over his lips. He was handsome when he looked like this. When she saw this side of him she could perfectly well see his father on him, and it was maddening. It hurt even more now that she had him in her arms.

“I had a nightmare, but I can't remember it,” mumbled Ian.

Bae lowered himself to be at his same eye level. “You are okay now. You have us. We are going to protect you.” The boy nodded. “Listen, if you can't sleep, you can stay with me tonight,” he said, glancing over Belle briefly. “Or you could stay with Belle. Whatever you prefer.”

Ian nodded, eyes closed, breathing even, maybe falling asleep. She smiled at him, caressing his hair and kissing the top of his head. He was so small, so defenceless.

“Let's get you to your room, darling. You need to rest. We will stay with you until you fall asleep, okay?”

“'kay...” he whispered, almost completely in Morfeo's arms.

Baelfire helped her to get up with the child in her arms and opened and closed doors. While she stood in the middle of the room, Bae accommodated the bed clothes and the pillows. They both put the child in it, and covered him with the sheets.

~*~*~

 

Bae stayed while Belle came back to her own room to rest. He sighed heavily. He could understand why his papa fell in love with her. She was too kind to anyone, but when she needed, she was firm as steel. She was a fine woman with a beautiful smile. A sad, sad smile. Too beautiful and too sad. It hurt him that she was unhappy, but he was grateful to her for being with him all those years, instead of staying with the _heroes_. The ones who couldn't beat Pan, the ones who needed to be saved by _his father_.

He sighed again, toying with a ball that was in the room. In moments like these he missed Emma even more. He wanted to see Henry, and dreaded that he was missing his life yet again. He needed to see her, and embrace her. But the only one who was there to held him was Belle. Not Emma. Not Henry.

But now. Now he had his papa again. And his papa needed him like no one in this or other land. He was sure Emma would raise Henry greatly. Mixed memories came to him, making him cry. He saw his own tears running down his face on the mirror. It wasn't anything special, that mirror, just the wooden decoration. It rested over a desk. It had the face of an angel on top of it. The eyes of the angel were almost as his eyes level. Over the desk was the box with the Dark One's Dagger.

They had conveyed that the box should stay on Ian's room, closed. They trusted the child not to open it until they told him he could. He had obeyed this far, but maybe when he grew a little older, or when he stopped being sick, he would open the box.

He sat down and opened it. The silver like glow at the moonlit let him see clearly the name. _Rumpelstiltskin_ was almost gone, while _Ian_ was gaining more and more strength. There was nothing they could do. He knew the latest nightmares of Ian were the memories of his papa. And when he woke up from those nightmares those memories were lost. Losing them meant losing his identity as Rumpelstiltskin.

“Rest well.”

He left the room, closing the door quietly.

“Is he ok?”

He almost let out a yell. Jumping he looked around to find Belle standing near to him, with a grin.

“I didn't know you were a scaredy-cat.”

“I am not, but you scared me.”

They both smiled.

“I... can't sleep,” she said.

“If you want, we can talk by the fire with something to drink. I think I won't be able to sleep either.”

Neither of then saw the boy, listening to their short chat, standing by the door. They did not, because he was covered by the shadows, a golden gleam on his brown eyes.

~*~*~

 

“ _Listen, and listen well, child. You are forbidden to use your magic powers, even if they look harmless. We still don't know how bad things would turn out if you did a too powerful enchantment. You could kill yourself.”_

“ _Okay, Grandma, I won't use my powers.”_

_Miranda nodded. But still, she looked worried. He knew why. She saw him kill all those people with the blink of an eye. He was just trying to protect them, but it was too frightening. If this was inconvenient for her, he would not use his powers anymore._

“ _Grandma.”_

“ _Yes?”_

“ _Who is Rumpelstiltskin?”_

_She looked surprised. “I don't know. Where did you heard that name?”_

“ _In my dreams. A woman called... called... I can't remember her name, but a woman was calling that name as if she was going to die. She... She was crying while saying that. It was as if she thought Rumpelstiltskin was about to die.”_

_Miranda's breath was caught. “That... sounds like a memory,” she whispered. But it seemed like Ian didn't heard that, because he was focused on the woods._

“ _Miranda!” he said to the trees. Then, he turned. “Grandma, who is Baelfire? I think... it is important.”_

“ _It is, my child. But I don't have the answers. I am sorry.” She hugged him, he was crying. She cried with him._


	3. Ian

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Too much nightmares. Nothing that he can do. Losing memories.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Notes** : Without beta.

“Good morning, Ian,” says the woman. She is smiling brightly, but a wee bit sad, while holding Grandma's kitchen tools.

 

I tilt my head to the side. I can't become used to this. She is acting like... a mama, or a sister or... I don't know. But it scares me that she and the man act like this. They are too familiar with me. I don't know them, and I think I don't want to know them.

 

“It is not Ian,” I correct her. She startles, and something lit up in her eyes, a small smile on the corner of her mouth. “It is Iván. Written I, U, A, N. It can be read either Iván or Juan.” Her smile dies and her eyes lose their brightness.

 

“I see,” she says, averting her gaze.

 

“But Grandma started to call me Ian. She said that after all that trouble to find a name for me, it could be changed too easily, so she shortened it. I don't understand why. I liked Iván.”

 

“Would you like me to call you Iván?”

 

I shrug, I don't really care. Though I don't understand why I explained it to her. I still don't trust any of them.

 

“I don't know your name.”

 

“Maribel,” she tells me. “It's shortened. Full is María Isabel. Friends used to call me... _Belle_.”

 

“Bell? Like that one?” I point towards the wall. There is a big yellow bell. Grandma used to ring it when I played outside to call me back to eat. Her face has a smile, but I can tell is fake. She is sad.

 

“Well, more like “beauty”. I was teased a lot by my friends.”

 

I can hear Grandma telling a story, but I can't distinguish her words. It's so frustrating.

 

“As beauty, you say?” She nods. “I don't know. Grandma is a beauty. But that is not her name.”

 

She smiles at me, amused. “That's why I got teased. When I was a child I wasn't exactly a _beauty_. Only after I was older people started to say I was one. But I never felt that way. Not unless...”

 

This catches my interest. “Unless?” I encourage her.

 

“Unless it was said by someone I love deeply.”

 

“Oh!” So she has a loved one. Good for her. It's not like I care, but I thought... I don't even know what I thought. “Where is this someone?” I ask then. Strangely enough I have the desire to know.

 

“He... he is lost. I am looking for him.” Her stare gets too intense, I avert my eyes. I can't stand it when she looks at me like that. “Do you want to help me with this?” She asks me then, maybe to get me to look at her again. And I look. She wants me to help her with the food. Good, I know some recipes they should learn.

 

“Yes, why not?”

 

~*~*~

 

I am under the sofa. It's my second favourite hiding place. My first one is under Grandma's bed. I hear the voices of Belle and the man. They sit on the sofa. They don't know I am here. I know that I should get out, but I am curious about what they will talk about, so I stay here and listen.

 

“Since when are you called Maribel?” the man asks.

 

“And you? Since when did you threw away your identity as Neal?”

 

They stay silent for a moment. Then, the man starts talking again. “I threw it away when we started looking for him. I want him to know that I am looking for him, and if I want him to really believe I want to see him, I need to use the name he gave me.”

 

Silence. “It was my cursed name. I had two, in fact. The name Lacey had before being Lacey, and Lacey itself. I thought it would be better not to use that name. And... Maribel is close enough to my name. Maybe this way he will remember. Just with hints.”

 

“I see.” A pause. “I'll tell him both names. He can choose which one he wants to use to call me.”

 

Then, they start talking about other uninteresting things, something about which place should they go when we three leave this house, if Neal's castle or Belle's castle. I am surprised that they both have castles. They sure are rich people. Then, something catches my attention again.

 

“I don't know. I don't want him to be near them.”

 

“For his security.”

 

“Of course. What do you think they would do if they found out? I mean, they won't harm us, but they don't like him that much. Apparently he did pretty awful things in the past.”

 

“But... He is now...”

 

“Yeah, I know.”

 

The sofa over me shifts. I imagine they are hugging. Is Neal the loved one of Belle? If he is, then why did she told me that he was lost? Maybe he lost his memory? That surely must hurt a lot. I know, because only thinking that some day Grandma won't remember me hurts. And... there is a place in my chest where it hurts a little, too, if I think about Belle loving someone. Right next to that place is another one which hurts when I remember the sad face of the man, Neal.

 

Maybe... maybe she is... family? I don't know. I was lost when Grandma found me. And they come from the same realm I came. Ma-maybe they both... Maybe they both are family. _My_ family. I nod. I have decided. I'll go with them. I was planing a way to scape them when they tried to take me with them but... Now, I want to go with them.

 

~*~*~

 

“I don't want you to die...”

 

“I know, little one. I know.” Grandma is caressing my hair. I am with her in her bed. She isn't feeling strong enough today, so she is staying in bed, even when Neal could have taken her out to get some fresh air.

 

Right now they are outside, checking the traps and the safe place they finished just the other day. If we were in the need to run, we would go to that place first, and then to the woods.

 

“Do you sense something from them?”

 

I look at Grandma. “Yes. They have something that... I don't know. I feel like they are trustworthy.”

 

“But you didn't feel that way before.”

 

I know. “I know,” I say out loud. “But, somehow... They feel familiar. Not familiar enough, not yet.”

 

Grandma nods. She is smiling. “What about their names?”

 

“What about them?”

 

“Don't they ring any bells for you?”

 

I smile. Bells. It's so easy to make jokes. Belle. _Belle_... Beauty. Gaston? I frown. “I think... I remember a name, but it's not theirs. It's not Neal's nor Belle's... It's... A name that reminds me of a red rose. It makes no sense to me.”

 

“Don't force yourself. It'll come, or it wont. Either way, you will be good.”

 

I hug her. “How are you feeling today, Granny?”

 

“Tired, my sweet,” she sighs, then kiss me. “I think I'll sleep now. Go out and play with them for a while.”

 

“They are not toys, Grandma.” She smiles to me, from her bed, her skin greyed, her eyes less bright, her hair messy. She looks sick. “I love you, Miranda.”

 

She nods. She knows. She loves me too.

 

~*~*~

 

They are looking at me. It's strange. I have never been observed like this. Not even by Grandma. I want them to stop. I want them to look away, or say something. They are not talking, just... staring. Why? I won't turn into a dragon and eat them whole in one bite.

 

“What?” I ask in the end. I can't stand it.

 

“What what?” asks the woman. Belle.

 

“What do you want? Why are you looking at me that much? I won't run away. Grandma is still here. And... I... I promised to go with you. So stop it.” I can feel my eyebrows frowned.

 

Belle laughs. I like it. It's a sweet laugh, and she is smiling. A real smile. “Sorry, Ian. It wasn't our intention to make you feel uncomfortable.”

 

Neal, behind her, is smiling too. Then, he puts a hand on her shoulder. She looks at him. They are liked somehow. I can see it. They can talk with their eyes. There's something between them and I can't find a way in. But, why would I want to be there too? It's not as if I want to be with them that badly. I don't like them that much. I just trust them a little. I trust them to keep me until I can live on my own and...

 

“Wah!!”

 

Neal is on me. He lifts me from the ground and puts me across his shoulders and start spinning, laughing. I can hear Belle's laughter too. And there is someone else laughing. Is it me? Am I laughing as well? I... I am laughing.

 

Neal falls to the floor with me. Belle comes and takes me away, putting me to my feet, her hands on my hair. I am still laughing, and she is laughing, and in the ground, he is laughing too. I feel dizzy and fall over my butt.

 

“Bae, you crazy man. What if you fell over him?” she scolds Neal, with a smile.

 

“Well, he would be squashed under me, complaining,” he answers, breathy.

 

“Why... Why do you have two names, Neal?” I ask, between pants and laughs. I think I have a fit of laughter. I don't care. But he doesn't answer. I look at him. His face is serious now. “What?”

 

“I have two names because I lived in two different worlds,” he starts. I nod, my breath is caught in my throat. “In the first one, my mother gave me a name, and my father added to it a loving meaning. My first name is Baelfire. I was Baelfire to everyone but my father. He always called me Bae. He only used Baelfire to scold me or when he was worried sick about me.” He stops then.

 

“And Neal?”

 

“It came with the second world.” He didn't explain further.

 

“Well, let's get inside and bake some cakes!” Belle says.

 

She helps me again over my feet, then, she turns and helps Neal too. I think I am going to call him Bae too. Somewhat I like it better. It sounds good, it feels good to think of saying it. I spell it, and roll it over my mouth.

 

“Bae,” I whisper while they are both away. Something warm runs over me. It's pleasant, so I repeat the name until it sounds so familiar that another name comes out my mouth. “Milah.” I frown, I don't know anybody called _Milah_. I know Miranda, and Belle and Bae, but not Milah. Then, a painful sensation as another name is thrown out by my lips. “Malcolm.”

 

And I cry. I know this name means something sad and it hurts. It seems like _betrayal_. I don't want to remember anymore. I don't want. It's easiest to not remember. I know there is something going on with my memory. I know. Grandma has explained it to me. In order to be a child... Maybe that's why I haven't grown up yet, because this way I can be a child for ever and stay with Grandma.

 

~*~*~

 

It's late at night, Belle wake up all of us. There is a fire. We are being attacked. I want to stay with Grandma, but the adults won't let me. This is really the first time in my life I have wanted to be an adult too, to be able to grown up, to help Miranda the same way Bae can. He is about to put her on his shoulders, when she refuses.

 

“No, you three go out. I can still hold the barrier up, they won't see you, but I need to focus so I can't move.”

 

“Granny,” I cry. Maybe if I bribe her with tears...

 

“Oh, sweetheart, don't worry. Now, go.” I can see it, she is sure about this. She is staying. Staying to die. She won't survive this. I know, she knows. Maybe Belle and Bae suspect it, but they... they _have_ to save her. The must.

 

“No, Granny, Grandma!! NOO!!” Belle gets me and runs towards the hiding place they set days before. I can see the house being burn. Before we go, I hear Grandma's voice one more time.

 

“Baelfire!” He runs towards her and I can't see more. Belle hide both of us and covers my ears so I can't hear what those bandits are saying. I want them gone, so I broke the promise. I need to protect them all. I... I have to protect them, it's my duty, I am the most powerful of all. I call the cry of the Banshee upon them and they run away, scared.

 

I can't move, Belle is hugging me too tight. I hear her voice. “C'mon, Bae, come out. C'mon!” she says, and her grip looses when she sees Bae, so I get off her arms and run towards the house.

 

“Grandma!!”

 

“BAE!! Get him!!” she screams.

 

“Nooo! NOO!! Mirandaa!! MIRANDAA!! NOO!! DON'T LEAVE ME, MIRANDA. I LOVE YOU, PLEASE DON'T LEAVE ME. I'LL BE GOOD. PLEASE, PLEASE!!”

 

Baelfire got me on his arms, but something fell from his hands to the ground. I can feel it. The calling. I can feel it all too strong to resist. It's saying my name, but I can't seem to know which one. It is not Ian. It is not Iván. It is not Juán. It's larger. It's stronger. It's making me feel magic rushing through my veins.

 

I reach with one hand. If I stretch a little bit more. Just a bit more. I desire with all my might for the fire to be gone, and it ceases. I desire to see my Grandma, so one of the walls starts to fall apart. Then, I feel like something is pulling me out. Something in my stomach. It feels like my guts were taken away from me. I suppose the shock is too much, because right after that, I fall unconscious.

 

~*~*~

 

**Why does my heart feel so bad?**

 

He had a constant ache in his chest. It hurt. He was in and out of nightmares, non-stop. It hurt. He saw a man leaving him more than once since he was small. Then, when he tried one last time mend thing with this man... He left him again. It hurt him. He cried so hard his throat was sore, no more tears could come out his reddened and swollen eyes. He had to breath with his mouth open wide, and even so the air couldn't come inside his lungs. Not enough air. It hurt.

 

“Please, don't leave me.”

 

A burning hand rested over his forehead. Whispers. Two people? He wasn't alone. Who were they? There was a woman. Something is wrong. There should be two women, not only one. The other was a man. He reached to the man who instantly took his trembling hand. His bigger hand was cooler than the one resting on his forehead, so he tried to guide it there. It burn. He was burning. Pain, pain.

 

Why was the world spinning? Spinning wheel. Memories. A golden thread in his hands. His hands. His hands?

 

“Ma' hands,” he said, lifting them to his eyes. They were small normal hands. No sign of black nails or strange skin colour. “Ma'... ma' hands?” He looked around, trying to focus on the two people who where there.

 

“Shh, yes, these are your hands. It's okay. You are okay. Try to sleep,” a sweet voice. The man had a sweet soothing voice, full with love and affection. He wanted to cry again.

 

“It.. hurts.”

 

“Where, my love?” asked the woman voice. He moved his head a little towards her, trying to focus on her face.

 

“Ma' heart. Don...t leave me...” he cried again, falling into a merciful unconsciousness.

 

~*~*~

 

When I wake up I'm alone. I recognise the place. It's my new home. I have been down with high fever and nightmares, but I can't say for how long. I still feel sad when I try to remember those nightmares. They weren't scary at first, just sad. Then, people dance around me and start to disappear in front of me, leaving me alone. Just like... Miranda.

 

She had abandoned me. I know. Not because she wanted to, but because she had to. I hate it. I want Miranda back. I wish I had grown up faster. Maybe I could have married her. I love her. She had taken care of me since forever and I miss her. My heart aches with the loss.

 

I get up. It's still night time. I wander around. I know where are the rest of the rooms. I don't want to be alone right now so I go to Baelfire's room. It's empty. I know where he is right now. He is always with her when he is not alone. There is something between them. Not quite love. They love each other, that much is obvious, but not as a man and a woman. I can't understand. And I want. I want to understand them now. It's important. I know it is.

 

When I arrive at Belle's room I hear their voices. I open the door, just a crack, just enough to see them in front of the window, too close to my taste. I have to know why I don't want them that close. I like that they like each other, but I fear they will fall in love with each other. Maybe it is because then they will have their own children and I won't be needed. I will be abandoned again. I shiver.

 

“...Ian, just Ian.” I hear Bae's words. Not the full thing, though. Then, they hug. That frightens me so much. I close the door, then knock.

 

“Come in,” says Belle. And I do. They are no longer in each other arms. They are focused on me, and me only. I feel a little bad about that. When I'm near them, it's like I am their reason to live. It's a lot of pressure, but, somehow, I like it. Being loved. But I don't trust it's love what they have towards me.

 

I fall asleep on Belle's lap. I feel protected when I am with both of them. It's reassuring. But I have the feeling that I will lose them. They eventually learn about my magic and they will reject me. It will hurt a lot more, because they are showing me this kind of protection and want. They want me. Still.

 

When I wake up again, I'm in my bed again. I can feel Bae here. Is he sobbing? Am I dying? I get up and go out. But I don't want them to see me, so I break the promise I made to Miranda yet again. I become one with the shadows.

 

“I... can't sleep,” Belle says.

 

“If you want, we can talk by the fire with something to drink. I think I won't be able to sleep either.”

 

They go away together. Bae takes Belle's hand in his and squeezes it tightly. I want too... But what? What is it that I want? Do I want to be with Belle only? Do I prefer to be alone with Baelfire? I need both of them, but I don't like them like this. I have to break in. They are world apart from me, and I have no way to coming in, to break that spell.

 

I can feel new hot tear-drops falling from my chin to the ground. One hits my feet and I look down. Golden gleam. They are no more tears. I am crying gold, and I don't know how I am doing it, but I can't stop it.

After I had calmed down a little, I follow the same path Belle and Bae took and find them drinking a golden coloured drink. I can smell the alcohol from here. It must be strong. They aren't talking, just looking at the fire, the flames eating slowly the wood.

 

Bae gets up after finishing his glass to pour some more liquid on it. Belle follows him, her glass empty too. They stumble. Her glass falls to the floor. It doesn't get broken, maybe because the carpet, or because it has some spell on it.

 

But what I am looking at is not the fallen glass. My breath catches at my chest. Bae is holding Belle. They are looking at each other, maybe a little too drunk. She lifts one hand and touches Bae's cheek. He tightens the grip on her waists. There is something here. They are so far away right now I am sure even if I entered the room they wouldn't notice me.

 

Bae leans forward and kiss Belle. She responds to the kiss.

 

I feel something inside me shattering. Anger, desperation, desolation, wrath. Because they are kissing like they meat the world to each other.

 

Then the illusion is broken. They both step down, flushed.

 

“I am sorry,” they say at the same time.

 

“This is so wrong. We can't do this. Not now.”

 

“We have come this far. This will ruin everything.”

 

They both knows something I don't. They know that what they are seeking is someone who would be there for them. But I don't know it, so I am still hurt and confused. I run towards my room. I don't want to see more. They will, they will have their own children. I'll be cast alone.

 

 

~*~*~

 

_There is it. The monster. Its hair unruly, curly, eyes golden, dark teeth as black as its nails. Its skin iridescent with earthly colours: green, grey, brown, ash. But it has some appeal to it. It is exotic. It is smiling ruefully towards an enchanted mirror. He knew that mirror was enchanted. It was enchanted so no-one could spy him. He had more mirrors to use to be spied on. But this one, just this one he didn't want to be used._

 

_It had a wooden frame. On top of it it was an angel craved. When the monster rose from its seat he was at the same eye level as the angel. It was ironic that the angel had the same face, more human, but the same nonetheless. It was crying golden rivers. Small spheres of gold feel over the_ _chest of drawers, over a piece of cloth that was there too. The monster's hands caressed that cloth._

 

“ _I will find you, … I promise.”_

 

_He couldn't hear the name. The monster looked at itself in the mirror, and suddenly, the mirror showed him a man with the exact kind of sad look. The monster growled and stormed out the room._

 

~*~*~

 

I wake up screaming. I am afraid of the monster, because I _am_ the monster. Baelfire is here and he hugs me so tight I can't almost breath, but it's ok. I need it, so I hug back. Bae kisses me repeatedly, says the same thing over and over again, trying to comfort me. I can feel his hands on me, caressing me. He want's the nightmares gone as much as I want. I like the warmth he gives me.

 

“You have a fever again,” he says, tiredly. I feel bold right now so I lean and kiss him on his cheek, bad aimed though, since my lips land just above his and feel the scratch of his stubble and the smile. He smiles at my gesture, at its failure, at my attempt to show him some of the kindness he had given me until now.

 

“I love you, Bae. Don't leave me, don't leave me,” I hug him back and his hands tremble on my back. He kisses me again and again; temple, cheekbone, chin, under my ear, my neck. Then, he hides his face there and I feel on my skin his tears.

 

“I love you too. I won't leave you. I won't. But you are the one who has to say that,” he whispers, and his hot breath meets the wetness of his tears on my neck.

 

I reach with my hand and touch him on the face. He looks up and I can see his eyes full of tears, a little red, fearing my answer. “I won't leave,” I say. He leans and gives me a peck on the lips.

 

“Thank you,” he says before laying down beside me on the bed. “Go back to sleep, I'll be here.”

 

I nod.

 

I could be startled. He just kissed me on the lips, and Miranda used to do the same when I was ill. She had an special ointment on them that helped me to feel better. It had a peculiar smell, just like Bae's lips. With the corner of my eye I can see over a table a bottle. I'm sure Miranda told him about it, and how to give it to me. Strangely enough, it only worked like this, and she had had years and years of illness to make sure it couldn't work in any other way.

 

Still, I don't care. I have the feeling this isn't something completely foreign to me, as if... as if I had done that too when a little child was sick. A sign of affection. _I am here, I'm not going anywhere,_ is the meaning. Just a memory on the back of my head that Bae's kiss has trigged. I want to grasp it but the medicine is working now and I feel too sleepy to keep it. Bae has his eyes closed. He has fallen asleep, the ointment works that way.

 

I close my eyes and I can see a little child crying in front of me. I am leaning on a big stick, my right leg won't work as it should. It is damaged. I lean over the child and kiss him. He calms down when I start talking. He knows my voice and feels safe hearing it. “Bae, my Bae,” I say.

 

I wake up tangled with the sheets this time. An arm around me keeps me from falling off the bed. I want to remember the dream, it was pleasant, but it's gone. Something is wrong with it. I know it's important to remember that dream. I _have_ to remember it.

 

~*~*~

 

New strangers come. Bae hides me and Belle open the door to them. A man and a woman. She has long black hair, he has a scar on his chin. I can hear them from where I am hiding, watch them.

 

“Snow, David,” greets Belle.

 

“Belle!” The woman called Snow hugs Belle. “We have news. Where is Baelfire?”

 

Bae comes out and greets them.

 

“I'll go outside to take a look. I'm sure we were being followed,” says the man called David and goes out.

 

“Please, sit down.”

 

Snow sits, and Belle and Bae.

 

“This, this is so important,” she hesitates, looking at Bae. “I think you should know that Em contacted us about a week ago. She is coming here. And she will bring...” Snow was interrupted by a growl outside and a man screaming.

 

Like a storm, David enters the room, leaving doors open. “They found us!” His breath is uneven and he has his pupils dilated. I can see from my hiding place.

 

“Who found you?” I ask, coming out.

 

Snow and David seems startled.

 

“A kid?” she asks.

 

“No way. Is this...?”

 

“No time for explanations!” exclaims Belle. “Bae, take Ian to a safer place and then join us!”

 

“No! I can help. I can!! Let me help!”

 

Belle kneels before me, putting her hands on my shoulders, making eye contact. “It is really important that you are safe and don't get hurt. They are ogres and...” she looks at Snow and David.

 

“There must be some sorcerer with them,” adds Snow.

 

I look from one to another. “But I can help! I promised Miranda, but she told me that I could break it if it was for helping others,” I complain. But they have made the decision. I will stay inside.

 

“Come with me, Ian.”

 

I follow him. Before we go, Snow calls for Bae and whispers something on his ear, his eyes widen and he nods.

 

“I figured as much.”

 

“They will be here any time now. They will be able to help.”

 

There is a wishful look on his eyes. “I know they will. She is the woman I love, and he is my son.”

 

This comes as a surprise to me. So Bae has a son and a loved one who is not Belle? My head spins. There is something in the back of my head that wants to come out, to be present on the front where I can understand what is it. Before I hit the floor Bae catches me.

 

“His fever is back,” I hear him.

 

“Not again. Not another memory.”

 

“This... I think this memories could be the lasts ones.”

 

I can't hear them now. There is a swirl of colours and forms and I don't know where are we going until I feel a mattress under my back. He pulls the sheets until I'm covered with them. I am already feeling better. There is something in my room that helps me to recuperate faster.

 

Bae seems to be too focused on the wooden box Miranda gave him. He opens it and looks inside. He is breathless. His hands tremble so much. His entire body is shaking.

 

“No... no... It's too late... It can't be...”

 

The screams and yells from the outside brings him back to the present. I close my eyes and then hear his voice near my ear. “Don't worry, don't worry. They are coming. They can help us. Henry...” That name makes my head spin again. “And Emma.” He leaves.

 

“Em... ma... Em...ma... Hen...ry?” I can't breath, it's hot, too hot. I kick the sheets until they fall off the bed. I take out my clothes, entangling myself with them in the process. It's still too hot. I can hear the screams. They are being attacked.

 

I can help. I can _help_!

 

Too hot. I can't breath. The things at the back of my head are all gone. Just one thing stays there. A name.

 

“The Saviour. Emma, Emma... Emma...” With each new time I repeat this name I feel something leaving me. “Henry, Emma, Henry, Henry.”

 

I get up. My legs can't stand me and I almost fall to the floor. Almost. My hands are gripped on wood. I look. There, over the polished tabletop my wooden box. I open it and watch inside.

 

“My dagger,” I whisper. But I haven't seen it ever. How do I know it's mine escapes my knowledge.

 

I take it off the box. The name. It's my name. It's completely black, with silver background: _Ian_. I look at the mirror and I can barely see a scared sick boy, too small - I have to look up slightly. A boy who has the power to save the people outside. They are still fighting. They are in pain. They are risking their lives for me. My eyes are brown. Then, a gleam. Golden. _Emma, Henry, Bae, Belle, Curse, Storybrooke, Peter Pan, Malcolm, Hook._

 

A whirl of images, names, places. It's all in the dagger, in the name that was erased. The name. My name.

 

“ _Rumpelstiltskin_.”

 

I look up again. My eyes are at the same lever of the angel. I smile. It's time to help my family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **An idea**. This was a strange idea that came one day. The end, he, smiling at the same height as the angel was what made me write this all.
> 
> Surprised? I hope so. This is a strange story.
> 
> _Moby - Why does my heart feel so bad?_


End file.
